The Easter Bunny
by Suki Yume
Summary: A three-year-old Shiki is rather confused about Easter eggs. If chickens lay eggs, then where do Easter eggs come from? Just a cute little funny story for Shiki/Rima fans to wish everyone a Happy Easter!


_A/N: Hey everyone! Here's a special Easter surprise for you all. Just some quick things to note: this is set in my AU world (the one in which Vacancy and Dark Chocolate are both set in ^^) so the characters are not vampires, just models. ^.~ Also, Shiki and Rima are little kids, so you can consider this way way before Vacancy and Dark Chocolate if you're read them. I think that's all, I just thought we all needed a break from all those dark and depressing themes in Look Into My Eyes. I'd like to make everyone smile this Easter instead! So this is my perhaps somewhat failed attempt at humour ... I still hope you'll enjoy! (Oh, and of course, please excuse any dumbness etc!)_

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**The Easter Bunny**

A little boy of about three years old was walking sleepily into the kitchen, his blanket trailing behind him in one hand as he sleepily rubbed his eyes with the other.

"Ohayo Okaa-san … " he mumbled as his mother turned around from the cooker and smiled at his adorable appearance. His tousled hair was sticking up in little tufts at all angles and his little fist was still rubbing at his eyes, trying to rub the sleep from them.

"Ohayo, Shiki! Would you like a boiled egg for breakfast?"

Shiki beamed; he really liked boiled eggs. His mum smiled at his reaction; the first time she had made it, she had spent a good half hour trying to explain to a horrified Shiki that the "soldiers" were made from bread and no, he wasn't eating people. The memory never failed to amuse her, and her son caught her little laugh and scowled half-heartedly at her. He couldn't be moody today, not really. It was going to be a good day. First, he would have his favourite breakfast, then he would go shopping with his mum and to top it all off, he would go to the modelling agency to see his best friend.

He climbed into his seat at the table, the blanket forgotten beside him as he started dipping his _bread _soldiers into the egg. As he was chewing contentedly on the piece of bread, a sudden thought occurred to him, and he looked up at his mum, head tilted curiously.

"Okaa-san? Where do eggs come from?"

His mum laughed at his question, but seeing the real curiosity in her little boy's eyes, she started to explain.

"Eggs come from chickens."

"Oh." Silence. Then: "Where do the chickens get them from?"

This no doubt made her amusement grow and she tried hard not to let it show too obviously on her face.

"They lay them."

Shiki nodded slowly in understanding as he chewed on his lip, attempting to process the apparently mind-boggling information. His mum breathed a sigh of relief: she was worried that he would ask her how the chickens laid them. And she really, _really_ didn't want to go there.

However, luckily for her, little Shiki was content with her answer and instead resorted to chewing on his bread again. He was taking his time, and as much as she enjoyed watching her adorable son enjoy his breakfast, she glanced at the clock, realising that they had to leave soon.

"Shiki, we need to hurry up if we're going to make it on time! We need to pop quickly round to the supermarket before we go to see Rima."

"Okay!" Even as he replied, he was already trying to finish his breakfast as fast as possible, and inevitably making a mess as he did so. His mother laughed.

"Shiki, slow down! You'll choke."

"Mmm … I'm okay! I'm a big boy now!"

He mumbled the words around his mouthful of breakfast and she couldn't help but laugh at his words. It was true, he was growing up. She didn't know where the time had gone. But no matter how much he grew up, he would always be her little baby.

Soon, Shiki had finished breakfast and had changed out of his pyjamas, and in a flash, he was standing at the front door, jacket on and jumping up and down with impatience.

"Okaa-san! I'm ready!"

She turned around in surprise and smiled to herself. _Always so full of energy._

Later at the supermarket, Shiki was sitting in the front of the shopping cart, swinging his legs back and forth as he observed his mother from the child seat. The supermarket was full of Easter eggs and decorations, and his mother was currently pushing him through an aisle lined with rows upon rows of colourful Easter eggs.

"Okaa-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Do chickens lay Easter eggs too?"

_Not this again. _She laughed to herself and rolled her eyes.

"No, honey, Easter eggs come from the Easter bunny! The Easter bunny delivers Easter eggs to all good children. So be good, okay?"

Shiki beamed. "Yes, mummy!"

His mother was amused by how gullible he was, and one glance at his content, dazed expression told her he had swallowed her story whole with no problems at all. She felt slightly bad for lying to him, but all children needed dreams, didn't they? Besides, she didn't want to take away his childhood so soon. Believing in Santa and the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny added to the magic and enchantment of childhood and she wanted Shiki to be part of this enchantment a little while longer. To be quite honest, she didn't want her little boy to grow up. He lit up her life; every word he said and every adorable action made her smile and made her life so much more interesting. After Shiki's father left her, her life had been dark and depressing … but ever since the arrival of her little bundle of joy, the light came pouring back in and she realised that they were actually so much better off without him. _Good riddance._

Suddenly snapping back to reality, she noticed Shiki was looking at her with a slight frown on his face. Shiki had noticed she had spaced out and he somehow knew she had thought back to those horrible times when _that man _was there. He didn't understand, but he knew _he_ had hurt his mummy in some way, and he hated him for it.

"Mummy? Are you okay?"

She smiled, touched by her son's innocence and concern for her.

"Yep, mummy's fine. Hey, do you want to pick an Easter egg to give to Rima?"

A big smile instantly lit up his face at the mention of Rima's name.

"Yes, please! Rima is my best-est friend in the _whole wide world_!" He stretched out the last three words, exaggerating them with that childish adorableness of his.

After walking up and down the aisle several times, Shiki _finally _managed to choose an Easter egg for Rima. He wanted the best one for his best friend, and all the colourful selections and cute picture made it so hard to choose. As soon as he decided on one, his mother quickly popped it in the shopping trolley and dashed out of that particular aisle before her fussy son could change his mind.

After paying for all their shopping, they started to make their way to the modelling studio. Shiki wasn't down for a shoot today, but it had become something of a tradition to attend each other's shoots. His mother was content chatting to all the other mothers, and Shiki … well, Shiki was more than happy to watch his best friend. They often had shoots together, but on this particular day, Rima was the only one being photographed. It was some Easter themed thing and she was being photographed for a magazine.

His mother was friends with Rima's mother, and that was how Shiki ended up here as well. After hearing about the good pay and the friendliness of the people at this studio, she had decided to take Shiki along for a trial. She used to be a very successful model and actress before she stopped working to look after Shiki, and so she hoped her son would be just as successful. And funnily enough, the two children had been drawn to each other like magnets, and even after the first day, Shiki was pestering her about returning to the studio. She hadn't expected it to be accepted with such enthusiasm, but hey, she wasn't complaining. The memory caused her to smile. This was almost a year ago, and over that year, the two children had grown even closer to the point that they were almost inseparable. Everyday, it was Rima this, Rima that. But it was nice to see her son so happy; it made her happy too. The two mothers often joked about them growing up and falling in love, but looking at the two children now, it wouldn't actually be that surprising. She shook her head slightly in amusement at the thought, and Shiki gave her a curious look.

"Okaa-san? What are you laughing at? You're all smiley …"

She took her eyes off the road for a second to glance at her son's expression: head cocked to the side, eyes wide and innocent.

"I'm thinking about you and Rima falling in love!" she replied in a teasing tone.

Shiki just blinked at her, a look of confusion settling on his little face.

"But I already love her! I love her _this _much!" he said, throwing his arms wide in the child seat in the back of the car.

It wasn't long before they arrived at their destination, and as soon as Shiki was unbuckled, he was out the car in an instant, running towards the entrance to the studio. He paused at the doors, turning back and calling to his mother.

"Okaa-san! Hurry up!"

She rolled her eyes as she saw Shiki jumping up and down with impatience, waving his arms at her.

She took his hand and they both walked into the building. The receptionist smiled at them, sparing an extra big smile for the cute little boy holding on to his mummy's hand. Shiki returned the smile and hugged Rima's Easter egg closer to his chest. His little arms were a bit took short and it kept slipping from his hold. His mother noticed his struggle and relieved him of his burden.

As soon as they reached the big studio room and she let go of his hand, he shot off like a rocket after flashing his mother a big, happy smile. She smiled back and went to join the other mothers to catch up on recent events. As for Shiki, he ran immediately to the big stage where Rima was currently being photographed and took his space at the side, his little hands clinging to the edge of the high stage as he stood on his tiptoes to see his best friend.

Rima noticed his arrival, and her smile for the camera grew just that little bit brighter. She was dressed in a furry white coat and a little white skirt. On her head, in between her long copper bunches, sat a pair of bunny ears. She looked as cute as ever and Shiki fought the urge to run up to her and envelope her in a big bear hug.

Shiki and Rima were equally impatient for the shoot to be over. The photographer, noticing their restlessness, shook his head and rolled his eyes, deciding to call it a day. He had gotten quite a few good shots of the little girl, and the ones which he took right when the little boy arrived were by far the best.

He reached over to help the little girl off the high platform and put her down on the ground. She gave him a grateful smile before dashing off to join Shiki, her little copper bunches bobbing up and down as she ran.

After giving him a big hug, she started jumping up and down with excitement, clapping her little hands.

"Ne, Shiki, I've got a surprise for you!"

Shiki blinked at her, curiosity taking over him.

"Wait here!"

And with that, she dashed off into the crowd of people, only to return a couple of minutes later with her hands behind her back.

Shiki eyed her suspiciously. She was hiding something …

"Happy Easter, Shiki!"

She produced a big Easter egg, wrapped in shiny gold foil. Shiki's blue eyes widened in amazement and wonder, before he accepted her gift and gave her a big hug. By this time, Shiki's mother had found them both and was standing behind Shiki, holding the Easter egg they had bought for Rima.

Shiki looked at the big golden egg in his arms, then back up at Rima. He looked from her bunny ears to the chocolate egg, then back up again. Then he turned around.

"Mummy! Rima laid me an egg!"

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_Well, please let me know how you think I did! Thanks for reading and I wish everyone a very Happy Easter and I hope the Easter bunny will be kind to you this year ^.~ Have a great time everyone. Much love, Suki Yume x_


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